Transcript NASA’s ARTEMIS Mission - University of California, Berkeley

Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and
Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction
with the Sun
Credit: SSL, UC-Berkeley
Moon and the Solar Wind
Can you imagine what life on the Moon would be like?
Here on Earth, our atmosphere protects us from some of
the intense radiation from the Sun. But the Moon does
not have an atmosphere. (What are the astronauts on the
Moon in this image missing?)
two astronauts on Moon with Earth in backdrop; Credit:
lifeinthefastlane.ca by Yazid Masa
Because of the lack of atmosphere, the Moon is
flooded with charged particles from the Sun
called high-speed electrons and protons. This
constant stream of dangerous particles make up
the solar wind. In planning for future space
travel, radiation is an ever-present concern.
Earth’s Magnetosphere
NASA has been studying the region around the Earth that protects us from
the solar wind. This protected region is called the magnetosphere, and is a
result of Earth’s magnetic poles that a compass points to. This giant
magnetic bubble – Earth’s magnetic field – can store and release energy
from the charged particles in the solar wind.
Sun and magnetosphere; Credit: NASA - scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov
THEMIS
A group of five satellites, called THEMIS, was launched in
2007. These special satellites measure the solar wind and
Earth’s magnetism, and are helping scientists to unlock the
mystery of how Earth's magnetosphere stores and releases
energy from the Sun.
THEMIS spacecraft and Earth; Credit: dailygalaxy.com
ARTEMIS
In 2010, THEMIS completed its primary mission to study
powerful energy releases, called substorms, that are visible in
the Northern Hemisphere as a sudden brightening (colorful
eruptions) of the Northern Lights Lights. Maybe you’ve heard
that phenomenon being called the Aurora Borealis.
THEMIS spacecraft and Earth: marble.eu
Aurora borealis: alexandrosmaragos.com
From THEMIS to ARTEMIS
Artist’s depiction of ARTEMIS spacecraft, Earth and
Moon; Credit: artemis_John moore_moonposter.ie.jpg
With the primary THEMIS mission at Earth finished, two of
the satellites fired their thrusters to transfer them to the
Moon. For the first time, NASA recycled two used satellites
and put them to work on a brand new mission, called
ARTEMIS.
From THEMIS to ARTEMIS
To learn more about how two of the THEMIS satellites
became ARTEMIS, check out this interview with scientist
Daniel Cosgrove on “ How to Recycle a Spacecraft ”
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/artemis/epo-interviewshow-to-recycle-a-spacecraft.html
And then watch this video, “ARTEMIS Trajectory Movie”
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003600/a00368
2/ARTEMISdeluxeC_HD720.mov
ARTEMIS Mission
This mission is called ARTEMIS, or Acceleration,
Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of
Moon's Interaction with the Sun. As the name
suggests, the two spacecraft measure what happens
when the Sun’s radiation hits our rocky Moon,
where there is no magnetic field to protect it.
Artist’s rendition of ARTEMIS spacecraft and Moon;
Credit: orbiterspacenews.blogspot.com
ARTEMIS Mission
As the Moon orbits the Earth, it moves into and out of our
magnetic shield. What happens to the Moon when it is within
Earth’s magnetic shield? What happens to the Moon when it
is not protected, and it is hit with many charged particles in
the solar wind? These are some of the mysteries scientists are
interested in resolving.
Credit: SSL, UC-Berkeley and Emmanuel
Masongsong, UCLA